Project YOU

  I sometimes get mad at myself after a couple of hours of directionless internet surfing. Do you? It is so easy to jump from one interesting link to another. I convince myself that I was CURIOUS to learn more and that can't be all bad. Did surfing the internet lead to learning and retention? Maybe, maybe not. Research tells us that for deep learning to occur, our exploration dig has to be an effortful journey, with confusion and cognitive dissonance thrown in for good measure. That is why failure is a phenomenal teacher. The lessons of failure are rarely forgotten.  We use the phrase ‘connecting the dots’ often in our daily jargon when we recognize that there was a gap in our knowledge and this latest discovery, propelled by curiosity, helped close the gap and connect the dots. An attitude and a mindset that takes us in the direction of inquiry, helps us see patterns in all kinds of situations, which is essential to distilling life’s many truths. To live and experience your best l

  People are quitting their jobs like never before.  The pandemic has given us time and space to reflect and evaluate the quality of our lives. The decision to change jobs may be triggered for various reasons, job satisfaction, meaning and fulfillment, money, and flexibility are a few examples. The idea of reclaiming control and taking ownership of our careers has taken hold for most of us. I quit an executive position with good perks last month because I had this aching sense that I was not living my purpose and calling. My talents and competencies were not being utilized. I tried to proactively create opportunities to live my calling at work but a gnawing feeling of uneasiness was consuming me. The voice inside me cautioned me about the regret that was going to envelop me in a few years for not living my calling, which was using my insights from lived experiences and lifelong learning to positively impact the lives of others. You may be sensing discomfort now. But before you consider

I magine you are in a work meeting and hear a question for which you may have the answer. But you choose to stay quiet because you are not 100% sure if what you know is right. You want to avoid appearing unintelligent because you believe it will reveal a weakness. This scenario spotlights the moment when you were overpowered by your fixed mindset thinking. A person with a growth mindset leaning would have spoken up at that moment. Because what drives them is not the desire to safeguard their current slate of skills, knowledge, and talents but a hunger to expand their capabilities and reach. We have learned from studies that mindsets can be different in different domains for the same individual. For example, a person may have a growth mindset in the kitchen when they are experimenting and cooking up new and novel dishes but on the other side of the spectrum, the same person is fearful of experimentation and expansion at work. Mindsets are not absolute, immovable states and can be shifte

  Do you blame others for your bad mood, stress levels, and lack of progress at work? Sometimes, but not always, the blame is justified. You may believe that you were deliberately sabotaged. A common instinctive human reaction will be to immerse yourself in the blame game. It may feel good momentarily to tell others about the offender and go into a thinking loop for days. However, if you dwell on it for too long, you rob yourself of peace and happiness. Do you really want unhelpful emotions, like resentment, anger, and hatred to take over your aura and energy? The negative energy you show up with at meetings will leak, even when you want to hide it, and it will be felt by everyone. People will sense it, even on a zoom call. None of us knowingly want to give away the power to control our narrative. The only way we regain control is to stop ruminating about the slight, sabotage, or offense. It is not easy, I know. I have been there. A deliberate choice to snap out of my victimhood mood a

  What seed are you planting today? Is it aligned with your long-term goal? If you answered YES to the second question, then you will enjoy the bounty of the harvest it eventually produces. The path to the harvest can be daunting but don’t let that steal your joy today. Often, we give up on our dreams because the effort to get there can overwhelm us. The days, months, and possibly years it takes to realize our dreams may feel lonely, difficult, and a waste of time. But, without those days of focused, consistent effort, there will be no harvest. Planning, time, and effort are the seeds, fertilizer, and nourishment you need for a bountiful harvest. Take 5 minutes every day to log your effort and celebrate small, daily wins and you will start enjoying the journey towards your goal.  The daily grind when viewed with a new lens and perspective can be uplifting and joyous. We all know that discipline is the difference between being in control of your future and letting your environment contr

  What is your lack of courage costing you? I ask this question every time I have an aching sense that I have to do something, anything to propel me out of an untenable or unproductive situation. Have you considered the cost of being stuck or frozen? Sometimes, it is a single act of courage that helps us get unstuck, but more often it is an incremental approach of daily consistent practice of courage where we take small steps outside our comfort zone. We all know that our comfort zone is the greatest threat to us living our potential. How you challenge yourself every day to push through your discomfort is essential to developing your courage muscle. A known impediment to that small step towards discomfort is that our brains are wired to discount the cost of inaction and to overestimate the probability of failure. Daniel Kahneman described Loss Aversion in detail in his book. Know that fact and fight the impulse to play safe, for example in a work meeting or in a conversation with the b

To varying degrees, most of us seek the approval of others. Wanting to be liked is universal and nothing wrong with that. But when we start compromising our personal preferences, energy, and time to be liked, we abandon ourselves and our true nature. It may take us a while to get to not stressing about what other people think of us, but it is essential that we intentionally start accepting disapproval and in fact become good friends with it. You are enough! This beautiful quote from Christina Grimmie may resonate with you.